Crystal Dream
by The-Shattered-Timepiece
Summary: Noctis has been absorbed into the Crystal to obtain its power of light, but inside he is in a dream set to test him in becoming the true chosen king that is to save Lucis. -Spoilers for end of game


_~ Hi guys, thanks for giving this fan-fic a try. It's my first attempt at a Final Fantasy Fic and I hope it will go well. This idea came to me as I was watching a vid by Final Fantasy Peasant on youtube where he was going through some DLC rumours. (His channel is pretty good you should give it a try) One of which is the versus world (from the first trailers) being incorporated in the game where it is a world Noctis is dreaming about while he is in the crystal. So, this is my version of what could happen in that dream._

 _That being said, none of this is cannon in the game, all of what is happening is in Noctis's dream inside the crystal and how he comes to obtain its power. There are going to be slight character alterations due to the little information I gleaned from the first trailers, but not major. I love the characters in the game and I don't want to change them all that much. Noct however is going to be a bit more violent and angry due to the depiction in the trailers, but by the end of the fic I will be aiming to have him closer to the character you see in the end of the game because I believe that is what the time in the crystal is for. (as well as just getting it's power)_

 _This is going to be a relatively long project and I hope you fellow FFXV fans will support me through it so I can keep it going for you all._

 _Anyways, enjoy_

 **Prologue**

The first thing that escaped Noctis was an involuntary groan as consciousness found him. His head was tilted back in rest against a leather headrest, he could hear the soft rumble of the car engine that Ignis was driving at a smooth pace.

His groan had alerted the other passengers as well as Ignis and he soon felt their gazes on him. He ignored them for the time being as he feigned sleep. Something was bugging him, he felt as if he had been somewhere else for a long time but he couldn't remember where. He tried to recall where but the more he concentrated on the fragments the more his head would throb and the quicker they would fade, in the end he was left with blurred images that didn't make any sense. Such as a draconic figure, large, speaking to him. The crystal that was locked away in the citadel. And his friends. As the throbbing grew he gave it up, focusing on what was happening now.

He and his retinue were heading towards a building situated not too far from the Citadel. It had a history of playing host to royal parties, he recalled a few occasions he was required to go, such as some birthdays for himself and his father, as well as welcoming parties for more important guests to the city of Insomnia.

He had been given instruction a few days ago, by his father, the King, to attend an event at this building in his stead. The soiree was for a visitor to the city, they were a politician from Accordo and although not important enough to the city to warrant the Kings Attention it was more than enough that they be greeted by the Crown Prince.

Noctis was less than pleased at the demand, more for the fact that his father had completely disregarded his already approved request of leaving the city for a while on a short break with his friends, but he was also unhappy that his father was throwing him into a political minefield without any information. His friends had been there to calm him down afterwards but he still found himself frustrated at the whole thing.

His father had even encouraged the outing for him and his friends. Noct had made the arrangements himself, they were going to head to Galdin Quay to relax and he could catch up on his favourite pastime of fishing. Then they were going to head to Lestallum. When Noctis brought it up King Regis had been rather enthusiastic about the idea, saying that it would be good for him to go and see the land that he would one day rule over and protect. He had also added other places to visit, such as the disk of Cauthess and the Rock of Ravatogh.

The trip was supposed to have happened today, they had all prepared for the trip. Prompto had even been made a member of the Crownsguard so that he could be permitted to accompany them, which had also frustrated Noct. A friend should not have to join his guard just so he could be around him.

Then his father called and told him he had to go to this event instead, not even apologising for cancelling the plans that had been set for a month. And when asked about it, all Noctis had been given was a vague response of 'another time'.

For a while after his friends' task had been to calm him down. Fortunately, they were nowhere public when the news was given. Noctis had been told at a very early age that whenever he got angry his eyes would turn red. Which made for a bad look for a future King of Lucis, and did not help matters when he was always quick to anger and slow to calm down. As soon as the phenomena was discovered he found himself put through numerous therapies to help prevent him getting angry or quick ways to calm down when frustrated. After years of these not helping Ignis developed a simple method of dealing with the anger at its onset. It started with taking him and his mind away from whatever had caused the red eyes, which wasn't always made clear. Noctis could sometimes get lost in his thoughts and remember something from a while ago that pissed him off, annoying Ignis in the process because he would be stuck trying to figure it out. One of the methods of calming him down was to just let him vent his frustrations in the form of sparring, when this occurred Gladio would usually volunteer, being his former trainer, and enjoying the exercise anyway, Ignis would usually observe the session to make sure Noctis would not be hurt by Gladio being too enthusiastic, but more often than not he found Noctis would usually win the matches when he was angry, he just hoped that his charge wouldn't need to resort to such emotions if the need to fight became more common.

In other cases, they would have Prompto take him to his apartments outside the Citadel, his best friend was usually a good stopper on the anger, or at least a good distraction to take the Princes mind off what was angering him. They usually ended up playing video games, or they would go fishing. There was a river that ran through the city and there was a quiet spot closer to the wall that Noctis liked to go to so he could catch some fish, and Prompto would take pictures of the larger fish for his friends' record. And ego.

On this occasion the three of them had been with him in his room in the Citadel when he had received the call from his father. It was part way through the call that they noticed his eyes flash red, then they remained red once the call was over. Ignis quickly intervened in case Noct decided to vent his frustration by throwing his phone at the wall by taking it from his hands while Gladio chimed in.

"Wanna have a sparring match? I have a feeling I'll kick your ass today." The older man said with a hint of cockiness but it fell on deaf ears as Noct just shook his head in response.

"C'mon then, we'll head to your digs outside of here and have us a gaming session, it's been a while since I've been on Kings Knight." Prompto said giving a small shove to his friends' shoulder. "Besides, staying here looks like it's just gonna piss you off more."

"Fine." Noct said quietly as he made for the door, Prompto following before the blonde turned and gave a reassuring thumbs up to Gladio and Ignis who were left to their own devices. Ignis quickly handed him Nocts' phone before he decided to clean up, leaving Gladio stood looking a little awkward.

"Shouldn't one of us go with them?" He asked to his spectacled friend, watching as the advisor was taking empty plates to the kitchen.

"I don't believe it's necessary. What is troubling the Prince is more than just a cancellation of plans or being left in the dark about an official event. Our presence will only make it harder for Prompto to find the underlying cause of the matter and draw Noctis out of his anger."

"So, you already know what's going on? Even I don't know what event this is."

"It is nothing of great importance, however royal presence is required and Noctis has just been told that he is the one to attend. He had not been told this might happen, which is one thing that has frustrated him. Of course, the other is that the plans to leave Insomnia have been put on hold."

"But there's more than that that's pissed him off, right?"

"You are correct, but it is not my place to say. But I do believe that Prompto is the one that will help him through this one. You might still have your sparring match though. Just be careful."

"I'm always careful. I make sure I go easy on him." Gladio said smugly.

"I know. I'm saying perhaps you should challenge him more. I believe he has the strength to match you, and knows about it too. If you keep coddling him as such you will just be frustrating him more and he won't improve."

"Gotcha, I'll see about giving him a fight he'll remember. But still, he shouldn't be out without a guard though right? We could get into to trouble if one of us doesn't get him there."

"You are forgetting that he has a Crownsguard with him. As for transportation, I have a feeling he will take his own car." Ignis said, and it was then that Gladio finally realised what had Noctis so angry.

"So, you want some help cleaning Iggy?"

"No, but thank you for offering."

Prompto had tried to take his friends mind off the whole thing by having them commit to a session of Kings Knight, one of their favourite games since its release. Prompto had thought he was making good progress until Noct stopped the game all of a sudden and looked to him, his eyes still red. Seeing his friends scowl Prompto suppressed a frustrated sigh but couldn't do anything about his shoulders slumping in disappointment.

"Aren't you angry?" Noct asked, taking him by surprise.

"Me?" He asked as clarification, Noct just nodded. "Well I guess I'm a little bummed about not going, but we can just go another time. Maybe add even more places so we can get out for longer. Like Altissia."

"Not about that!" Noct said, holding in the shout so instead it came out as a hiss. "I mean about you. Having to join the Crownsguard just so you could come along. You shouldn't have had to do that!" He finished unable to suppress his shout any longer. Prompto was stunned into silence for a moment as his friends' words sunk in. He had a feeling that Noct was upset about him having to join the Crownsguard so he could go on the trip with them, but he had hidden it well. No red eyes at all. Now that the trip was cancelled it looked like he had now joined for nothing. Which probably to Noctis was 'the cherry on the cake' that tipped the scales from mildly annoyed at the situation to full rage. Prompto couldn't help it. He laughed. "What's so funny?!" Noct snarled in frustration but he didn't get a response, just more laughter from his friend until the blonde calmed down enough to speak.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. I'm only now getting why you're so angry. You obviously don't know, probably because you oblivious." He smiled as Noct scowled. "But I was going to join the Crownsguard anyway."

"What?"

"It's true. I had been asked way before you started dreaming up the trip. But I wasn't quite ready. I was still in training with Ignis and Gladio as well as a couple of the captains. I wanted to be sure I could actually protect your ass before I accepted the position. When the trip came up I jumped on the chance to be Crownsguard. Even though I know I'll never be the strongest out of the three of you, especially compared to Gladio. But being able to be with my best buddy all the time as well as being relied upon is more than I could ask for. I mean think about it. How did we get here today?"

"I drove us here." Noct answered, not entirely sure of where Prompto was heading with this tangent.

"Exactly. With no Ignis or Gladio, because you're not allowed to leave the Citadel without a Crownsguard." Noct eyes widened when he realised what Prompto meant. "You're not just my best friend Noct, or the Prince. You're my brother. I wanted to join the Crownsguard so that you could maybe realise that. He finished seriously, but Noctis didn't respond, he had just lowered his head, hiding his face with his hair.

"But~" Prompto continued in a sing song voice. "I guess my best buddy is too dense and self-centred to notice anything like that"

"Hey!" Noct shouted in response, causing Prompto to laugh for getting the reaction he was hoping for. But Noctis just glared slightly before sighing.

"You really didn't have to join the Crownsguard for that. I've always relied on you, and we'd always hang out no matter what. You think you'll never be the strongest but you are always the first person I'd turn to if I needed help. And I'm sorry that I never told you that before. I thought you already knew. I guess we are both a little dense."

"I guess we are." Prompto said quietly, a little taken aback at the seriousness of his friend's tone. A silence fell between them as they had nothing left to say for the time being before Noctis let out another, more frustrated sigh.

"I'm still upset about this event thing my dad has sent me on."

"Still? You shouldn't worry about it bro, it'll be fine. You probably won't have to do much. Just show your face, greet the fancy guest. Everyone will compliment you, the food the city. You'll have to make a bit of small talk, about the food or the city. Of course, you'll eventually get bored and just end up sulking in a corner and wait for everyone to leave." He expected a complaint but was surprised when he was met with a smirk and a mischievous glint in his friends now blue eyes. "What?" He asked as Noct started chuckling. "What?!" He asked again getting slightly annoyed.

"You know." Noct started once he had calmed down. "As Crownsguard, you're required to accompany your charge anywhere you are ordered to. I have no doubt that your first official assignment will be tagging along with me to this fancy event tomorrow night. Of course, you'll have help from Ignis and Gladio, as they have more experience." Noct was grinning as realisation dawned on his friend's face. Who groaned and flopped backwards onto the sofa.

"Remind me why I wanted to do this again?"

"Because we're brothers."

"I take it back. I'm not cut out for this fancy stuff. I'm going to be a photographer instead. Make money by selling pictures of you.

"Too late to back out now." As if their conversation had been listened in on, Prompto's phone started ringing. It was Ignis.

"Hi Iggy." Prompto said in greeting, all enthusiasm lost. He was silent for a few minutes and Noct couldn't see his expression from his position so he just waited as Ignis seemed to be relaying information to his blonde friend. "Right, got it. See you later" Prompto finished before ending the call.

"Well?" Noct asked as Prompto got back up to a seated position.

"I'm going to need a suit… Argh! Stop laughing already. You're gonna need one too."

"I have one. Prince remember? The guy you are now getting paid to protect as your job? Regretting it already?"

"Nah, you will though when I make you look like an idiot."

"We'll see"

"I know you're awake and I know what you are smirking about so cut it out." Came the annoyed voice of his best friend. He opened his eyes and was met with Prompto giving him a mock glare from the front passenger seat. He had managed to get a suit due to his new position and had opted for a black blazer and pants with a dark grey tie and white shirt, both of which he wore loose. He had also tamed his hair slightly so it wasn't sticking up as much. Ignis had opted for a grey suit and tie with a white shirt while Noct and Gladio both sported black suits and ties only Noct had to wear a few decorations, such as silver cufflinks decorated with the Lucis emblem and a silver tie bar displaying the same motif. Due to the occasion, and as a form of silent apology King Regis had allowed Noctis to take his car, the Regalia. The car had recently been decorated with the motif of Leviathan, the Hydrean who was slumbering in Altissia's waters. Not only did the décor make the car look more elegant. It also displayed appreciation to their host who was an important politician visiting from Accordo. Noctis was aware that pleasing their host was important. But he just really liked the car. And if Ignis's reaction to being told he was driving, he liked the car too.

"We should be arriving at our destination shortly. If you could remain awake, it won't look to our guest that we have just dragged you out of bed." Ignis said while keeping his eyes on the road.

"You did seem pretty out of it though. Everything cool?" Prompto asked.

Noctis tried again to remember one of the fragments floating around in his memory but got nothing but another throb to his head. He shook off the wince and just nodded.

"Yeah. Let's just get this whole thing over with."

 _~ Hi again guys, thank you for reading. I know I have started a bit slow with this, but I did mention that it is going to be a long project, and remember Noct does spend ten years in the crystal, and while I probably won't make the story that long, I may incorporate some time skips, or have the time in the crystal move quicker. I'll be trying to incorporate some characters in from the Kingsglaive movie, as well as still give the four a journey across Lucis and beyond. (Chocobos will be included)_

 _I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, I'll be sure to have another one up shortly._

 _Keep on Keepin' on_

 _~ The Shattered Timepiece_


End file.
